"These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb."

--Najwa Zebian

Why Barton?

The Barton Reading & Spelling System is a structured literacy program that is Orton-Gillingham influenced. It is a multi-sensory, direct, explicit, and sequential program designed for intense intervention.


Watch this short video of Susan Barton herself introducing the Barton Reading & Spelling System.

Barton Levels

LEVEL 1 Phonemic Awareness

We teach the 7 essential phonemic awareness skills as rapidly as possible.

Lesson 1: CV and VC nonsense words

Lesson 2: CVC nonsense words

Lesson 3: VCC nonsense words

Lesson 4: CCV nonsense words

Lesson 5: Rhyming & Real Words

LEVEL 2 Consonants & Short Vowels

Lesson 1: A, B, F, M, P, S, T

Lesson 2: I, C, G, H, L, N, R

Lesson 3: O, D, J, K, V, Z

Lesson 4: U, W, X, Y, QU

Lesson 5: E, SH, TH, CH, WH, CK

LEVEL 3 Closed & Unit Syllables

Lesson 1: Blends at the End

Lesson 2: Blends at the Beginning

Lesson 3: Blends at Both Ends

Lesson 4: Digraph & 3-Letter Blends

Lesson 5: Spelling–Floss

Lesson 6: Spelling–Kiss the Cat Rule

Lesson 7: Spelling–Milk Truck Rule

Lesson 8: Spelling–ING INK Units

Lesson 9: Spelling–Catch Lunch Rule

Lesson 10: Spelling–Contractions

Lesson 11: Spelling–Kind Old Units

LEVEL 4 Multi-Syllable Words & Vowel Teams

Lesson 1: Open Syllables

Lesson 2: Syllable Division Rule #1

Lesson 3: Syllable Division Rule #2

Lesson 4: Spelling–/k/ in the middle

Lesson 5: Spelling–Double Letters

Lesson 6: Spelling–Schwa

Lesson 7: Syllable Division Rule #3

Lesson 8: Syllable Division Rule #4

Lesson 9: Three-Syllable Words

Lesson 10: Spelling–The Banana Rule

Lesson 11: Spelling–The Confident Rule

Lesson 12: Spelling–Long A, E, I at End (Vowel Teams)

Lesson 13: Spelling–Long O, U at End (Vowel Teams)

Lesson 14: Spelling–Vowel Teams in Middle 3 (Vowel Teams)

LEVEL 5 Prefixes & Suffixes

Lesson 1: Plurals–S versus ES

Lesson 2: Consonant Suffixes

Lesson 3: ED and ING, The Doubling Rule

Lesson 4: Other Sounds of ED

Lesson 5: Vowel Suffixes

Lesson 6: Spelling–The Change Rule

Lesson 7: Spelling–TION versus SION

Lesson 8: Prefixes: dis, in, un, non

Lesson 9: Prefixes: mis, sub, re, pre

Lesson 10: Prefixes: inter, mid, over, up

LEVEL 6 Six Reasons for Silent-E

Lesson 1: Silent-E’s in One-Syllable words

Lesson 2: Syllable Division with Silent-E

Lesson 3: C’s and G’s with Silent-E’s

Lesson 4: Spelling–V at the End

Lesson 5: Spelling–The Huge Bridge Rule

Lesson 6: Spelling–The Dropping Rule

Lesson 7: Spelling–Tricky Suffixes

Lesson 8: Spelling–PH and Medial Y

Lesson 9: Unit–TURE

Lesson 10: Spelling–TION and SION

Lesson 11: Silent-E Units

Lesson 12: Consonant-LE Syllables

Lesson 13: Spelling–The Sprinkle Vehicle Rule

Lesson 14: Spelling–ABLE versus IBLE

LEVEL 7 Vowel-R's

Lesson 1: AR and OR

Lesson 2: ER, IR, and UR

Lesson 3: Vowel-R with Silent-E

Lesson 4: Prefixes & Suffixes with Vowel-R

Lesson 5: Spelling–Commodore Sailor Rule

Lesson 6: Bossy W

Lesson 7: Spelling–Edward the Lizard Rule

Lesson 8: The Three Sounds of EAR

Lesson 9: AR and ER can say /AIR/

Lesson 10: Word Endings ARY, ERY, and ORY

Lesson 11: Vowel-R Plus R

LEVEL 8 Advanced Vowel Teams

Lesson 1: Spelling: India Indian Musician

Lesson 2: Spelling: Obvious Spacious Religious

Lesson 3: Spelling: Radio Union Million Region

Lesson 4: Spelling: Industrial Special Dial

Lesson 5: IE: Piece of Pie

Lesson 6: OI, OY, EY: Oil Boy, Turkey

Lesson 7: AU, AW: Audience Saw

Lesson 8: OO: Good Food

Lesson 9: OU, OW: Mouse Group, Slow Down

Lesson 10: EA: Clean Breath is Great

Lesson 11: IGH, AUGH, EIGH, EI

Lesson 12: EU, TU: Feud, Sleuth, Actual

Lesson 13: Split Vowels

LEVEL 9 Influence of Foreign Languages

Lesson 1: Greek Words

Lesson 2: Silent Letter Pairs

Lesson 3: Words That End in I and INE

Lesson 4: French Words: QUE and CH

Lesson 5: French Words: AGE and 2 Suffixes

Lesson 6: French Words: Silent and Accented E

Lesson 7: French Words: Silent S and T plus EAU

Lesson 8: French Words: OUR

Lesson 9: Spelling: G, GU, and GUE

LEVEL 10 Latin Roots and Greek Combining Forms

Lesson 1: Latin: Chameleon Prefix: IN

Lesson 2: Latin: Chameleon Prefix: CON

Lesson 3: Latin: Chameleon Prefixes: OB and SUB

Lesson 4: Latin: Chameleon Prefix: AB

Lesson 5: Latin: Chameleon Prefixes: EX and DIS

Lesson 6: Greek Combining Forms

Lesson 7: Greek Forms in Science

Lesson 8: Greek Forms in Math

Lesson 9: Greek Forms in Medicine

Lesson 10: Greek Forms in Social Studies

The Steps in a Barton Lesson


It may take between two and three sessions to complete an entire Barton lesson. Here are the activities that we will complete with each new skill.

A. Quick review of prior lesson.

B. Phonemic awareness warmup.

C. Teach new skill or rule, in color.

D. Read & spell real words using new skill or rule, in color.

E. Read & spell nonsense words using new skill or rule, in color.


F. Read & spell both real and nonsense words, on paper, in black and white.


G. Read & spell phrases on paper, in black and white for fluency as well as accuracy.


H .Read & spell sentences on paper, in black and white for fluency, accuracy, and phrasing.


I. Read controlled-text stories on paper for fluency, accuracy, phrasing, & comprehension.


J. Extra practice pages can be done as seatwork or sent home.



To learn more about the Barton System, go to: „ www.BartonReading.com


Reprinted with prior written permission from Susan Barton, Founder of Bright Solutions for Dyslexia and developer of the Barton Reading and Spelling System®.